I first "met" Jaynie via Facebook. I fell in love with her work instantly. I have a special place in my heart for work that is obsessive, repetitive in process and the dedication it takes to create such work. Add that she's also using re-purposed materials, and I'm a super fan. I was able to get to know her well during a residency at Soaring Gardens (applications due March 20th) and have been lucky enough to get to show with her on numerous occasions since. I hope you'll be equally as delighted and obsessed with the consumption of viewing her work as I am.

How did you first discover that certain inks aren't recyclable? What was the first incorporation of that knowledge into your work?

When I began incorporating my shredded junk mail into my work [transitioning from using only my shredded financial statements], it was more of a personal/cultural statement. As I began working with my junk mail, I discovered that most junk mail is printed with metallic inks and end up in landfills. This lead to a decision to prioritize the catalogs and solicitations used as my medium.

Where do you drawn inspiration for the forms? Can you describe how you approach the beginning stages of the work? Compared to how it ends?

The self-imposed boundaries of my practice are inspired by Frank Wilczek’s book “A Beautiful Question”. These constraints honor nature’s love of harmony, balance and proportion and its production of a multitude of outcomes from very restrictive means. There is no set plan in mind when beginning a new piece. My production methods are limited to rolling, folding, sewing shredded paper.

The armature chosen to work with determines the size and general shape of the piece. The process is meditative and intuitive.

What's the best response you've ever gotten to your work?

The one question people pose repeatedly is, “How long did that take you to make?” Also, “Do you want my junk mail?”

Your work has a certain intimacy, especially when we as the viewers know that it's made of old tax papers and junk mail. Does this add a layer of vulnerability to you? Meaning, do you feel there is an added layer of being exposed to the world due to the material?

Most artists reveal something of themselves in their work. My pieces are very personal. Many of the forms are based on marine ecosystems. In my mind, the work functions in the same way as a marine ecosystem - becoming a home and a hiding place for what resides there. While the work contains information about my beliefs, behaviors, values and goals - my household mail is deconstructed before it is employed as an art material. The details are present yet hidden in plain sight. Also, my hope is that upon close inspection, the viewer recognizes some identifiable snippet from their own experience.

Just putting the work out in the world for others to view makes me feel exposed.

How do you feel your work relates to the broader topic of consumerism and/or societal waste?

Junk mail represents the endlessness of our consumer culture, attempting to distract from personal codes of behavior. It impacts tastes and values by trying to sell certain lifestyles through mass produced products and exerts pressure on priorities with its endless solicitations.

Are you an avid recycler in other areas of your life? Where do you see the opportunity or need for change in how we as a society can improve our recycling options?

I do recycle everything that can be recycled in NYC. As far as waste, while it would change my artwork quite a bit, I am shocked to receive daily mail solicitations and catalogs in our digital age.

Has creating this work changed or influenced your own buying habits? If so, how?

Examining my junk mail through the lens of pure manipulation and excess has allowed me to resist its consumerist appeals.

In your most recent work you've been focusing on the color blue, can you tell us a little about the meaning and inspiration behind that? Is this a direction that you plan to continue to explore?

Building a blue wall of resistance and safety is my response to election of the 45th President of the United States. Endlessness and constraint have taken on new meanings in my work.

The endless tweeting, re-tweeting, cabinet appointments resistant to the mission of their agencies, rogue actions, sexism, racism, the embrace of conspiracy theories, fake news, white supremacy, neo-nazism, deportations, climate change denial - are horrifyingly reactionary. The new normal is the constraint of our freedoms including but not limited to access to quality healthcare, freedom of speech, religious freedom, abortion rights, marriage equality. Funding is cut to agencies and organizations that support the monitoring of truth, justice, science, creative endeavors, diversity and reason.

The junk mail solicitations received from non-profit social justice, women's health, civil rights, advocacy and arts organizations seem less like annoyances and more like the only path to help maintain our democracy.